So a few weeks back, I had a later than usual night at the office. When I eventually arrived home, I found that my family had already eaten and also managed to save me nothing. Not feeling up to firing up the grill or oven, I announced that I was going to swing out and pick something up for myself. As I pulled out of the development, my mind raced as to where I could find some relatively healthy food quickly…”Chick-Fil-A!” I thought. Some grilled chicken with a side of vegetables and a bottle of water would be perfect, and at 9 o’clock at night, how busy could they be? Much to my surprise, it was a complete mob scene. The drive-thru was backed up and it was equally packed inside. What was even more impressive was despite the chaos going on, their staff of newly hired, teenage, hourly employees were not missing a beat in terms of customer satisfaction? Phases like: “May I help the next guest in line?”, “My pleasure!”, “Is there anything else I can do for you?”, and “Can I clear your tray or get you a free refill?” could be heard throughout the restaurant. Once again, the place was filled with newly hired, teenage hourly employees. Patient care needs a similar approach. Often when things get busier, it becomes an excuse to put patient satisfaction on the back burner. Our teams should expect there to be times when things are going to get hectic, and we need to train them not to miss a beat. It is easier to do the little things when things are a little slower, but it takes discipline when things start to speed up.
